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6 Best Hidden Features on Your Android

Aug 23, 2017 5:18:40 AM

Your Android can do all kinds of cool things you might not know about. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

Guest Mode

Say you need to lend your phone to your friend or kid after they jump into the pool with their own phone still in their pocket. Well, you can go to the Users screen and switch to guest mode. That way your data stays private and your guest has a completely clean phone.

Your Power Button Can End Calls

Maybe you like the tactile sensation of pressing a button, maybe it just makes sense to push a button to end call. All you need to do is go to Accessibility Settings and turn the ‘power button ends call’ option to on.

Save a Web Page as a PDF

If you’re planning on going off grid—say, you’re boarding a flight—and you want a little reading material, this is a good trick. Prior to going off-grid, gather the articles and pages you want to be able to read in Chrome, go to Share, then Print, and now you can save your web pages as PDF files.

Play the Dinosaur Game

Here’s something else Chrome can do when you have no connectivity. Turn on Chrome, open a new tab, and your standard Network Error page will also have a dinosaur ready to run. It’s a tough game though. You’ve been warned.

Restrict Data Usage

You’re probably aware that your phone is doing background activities like data-syncing—you know, checking your email and whatnot. But do you really need your weather app checking the forecast every ten minutes? Or your photos app constantly syncing with your cloud folder? That kind of data usage could easily push you past your data cap and have you spending more money than necessary.

Fortunately, you can check. Open Settings, go to Data Usage, and there you have an option to restrict app background data. If you enable that option, background data activities won’t occur over your cellular network. They’ll wait until you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Go Grayscale For Your Eyes (And Battery Life)

Maybe you don’t care for all the pretty colours on your phone. Maybe you need less strain on your eyes because you’re using that screen at night (even though you totally shouldn’t). Or maybe you use your phone all day, really need the extra juice, and don’t spend a lot of time on playful apps anyway. Either way, you can turn your phone to grayscale. Turning your phone to grayscale will both extend your battery life will reduce your eyestrain if you’re using your phone for a long time or late at night.

It’s a bit tricky, but you’ll need to go into developer mode. Go to Settings, then About Phone, and scroll down to find your Build Number. Tap it seven times. No, we aren’t kidding. You’ll see a notification that says “You’re now x steps away from being a developer!” When the countdown is done, go back to Settings, and you’ll now see Developer Options above About Phone. In developer options, you can tap Simulate Colour Space, which lets you enable Monochromacy (i.e., grayscale).